


Study Problems

by rainclouded



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, yukina flirts by accident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 21:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30028254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainclouded/pseuds/rainclouded
Summary: Yukina really doesn't want to study. But if it's with Rinko, then...
Relationships: Minato Yukina/Shirokane Rinko
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	Study Problems

"Yukina," Sayo said, looking over Yukina's shoulder at the sheet of math problems she was working on, "you're doing these incorrectly again. As I mentioned earlier, you need to use this formula for these sorts of problems, not the one you're using. Also, seven and nineteen do not equal twenty-nine."

"I get it, Sayo. You don't need to tell me over and over again."

"Clearly I do, or else you'd be getting the right answer. Lisa told me about your grades on the last exam—I'd think that you, of all people, would want to avoid anything that might hinder our band's progress."

Yukina understood that well enough, of course, but that didn't mean she was thrilled about having to do it. Or Sayo's attitude towards her.

…Was this the way Ako usually felt?

"Yukina, Sayo's right, you know," Lisa added, in the tone of voice she used when she was trying her best to smooth things over. "I know you don't really want to do this—I mean, I don't either—but it'd really be helpful to raise your grades a little bit. And Sayo's a good teacher, I promise! I've definitely done better with her help."

Something about Lisa's words only served to further annoy Yukina, and she snapped her textbook shut.

"…Yukina?"

"I don't think that I'm going to gain anything by continuing to stay here. I'll leave the two of you to it."

"You don't seriously plan to just give up, do you?" Sayo asked as Yukina stood up.

"Maybe I do," Yukina replied, and left Lisa's house in a huff.

By the time she got back to her own room, she'd calmed down a bit and realized that no matter how uninterested she was in studying, she probably did, actually, need to work on studying for this math test or things might turn out particularly poorly for her and Roselia. She looked longingly at the latest score she'd been working on. If only she could just abandon math and spend her time working on the things that _really_ mattered…

Anyway, there was no chance she was going to go back and ask Sayo for help. Crawling back into a house she'd just stalked out of indignantly was an action unbefitting of Minato Yukina. It was out of the question.

But studying by herself seemed like it would be unproductive. She in general saw no particular value in making friends with other people in her class, but this was one time in particular when doing so would have come in useful. As it was, her options were somewhat limited.

Really, there was only one person left she could count on.

She'd been about to pick up her phone and call Rinko, thinking that it would be easiest, when she remembered that Rinko wasn't necessarily the best with phone calls so maybe a text would be better.

_Do you have a little time to help me with some schoolwork? I'm sorry if you're busy._

The response came quickly, to the point where Yukina wasn't sure how Rinko could have typed it out so fast.

_It's rare to hear this kind of thing from you but I'd be happy to! I was just planning to get started on some homework so maybe we can do some together! ^^_

Yukina thought for a second. It seemed a little rude to Rinko to ask her to come all the way over here to help Yukina, although inviting oneself over to someone's house was hardly great manners either. Ultimately, what tipped the scales for Yukina was a desire to avoid her nosy friends next door, which would be a lot easier to do at Rinko's.

_Would it be fine if I came over there, then?_

She received a quick message of consent and then, gathering her things, made her way out the door. Honestly, this had been the best option the whole time, hadn't it? She should have realized that before she let Sayo and Lisa badger her into studying with them. Rinko was hardly any less good at schoolwork than Sayo was, and considerably easier to deal with.

After a short walk, she arrived at Rinko's house, heart already feeling lighter than it had been.

The two of them had been working in Rinko's room for a while, slowly making progress on Yukina's seemingly interminable list of problematic study areas, when Yukina spoke up.

"You're very good at teaching, Rinko. Much better than Sayo is."

Rinko looked flustered and waved her hands in front of her in denial. "I'm… nothing like that, really! And Sayo, um, really knows a lot, and I'm always asking her if there are things I don't understand…"

"Even if that were true, she's not very good at imparting what she knows to me. It's a lot easier to understand when it comes from you."

"I see," Rinko replied, even more softly than usual. Then after a second, she spoke again, this time a question.

"Um, Yukina… if you don't mind me asking, why exactly do you dislike schoolwork so much?"

"I just find it to be a waste of time. If I'm going to work on something, I'd much rather it be something I actually care about. Something that'll help me in the future. Which this is not." Yukina glared venomously at the page in front of her once more. "I'm assuming you feel differently, Rinko?"

"Well, yes… I'm, um, as you know, not very good at a lot of things, like interacting with people or sports, so it's nice to have something I feel like I'm good at. Plus… I do enjoy reading, and learning about new things too…"

Upon first hearing it, it made sense. Rinko was naturally inclined toward reading and schoolwork, so she enjoyed those activities and invested herself in them. Whereas Yukina's inclinations lay elsewhere, so she had no real interest in applying herself towards schoolwork.

But something about that assessment felt wrong. It wasn't that Rinko was the kind of person who just stuck to the kinds of things she was good at and didn't touch the others; rather, she did her best to overcome her weaknesses and improve herself.

Something Yukina had never, honestly, considered trying to do.

"I do think you're very impressive, Rinko. The way you do your best to improve even the things that make you uncomfortable."

"Huh? What's this?! All of a sudden…" Rinko was gradually turning red.

"Just an honest opinion. You made me think that I might want to put a little more effort into my schoolwork."

"Well… I'm, um, happy to hear that." She sighed softly and then smiled, leaning against Yukina's shoulder.

This was unexpected. Yukina was more or less used to it with Lisa or Ako, but Rinko usually maintained a little more physical distance between herself and others. Not that she had any intention of objecting, of course. When it came to Rinko, she found herself willing to forgive things she wouldn't of her other band members.

They worked for a little longer before Yukina succumbed to mental exhaustion and sat back against Rinko's bed.

"I suppose," she said, "I could see a way in which modern Japanese might be useful in terms of writing better lyrics. But with some of this work, I just can't fathom its future usefulness." A wave of frustration bubbled up in her again upon thinking of the many more productive ways she could be spending this time.

Rinko giggled softly at Yukina's statement, and Yukina looked questioningly in her direction. "What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, it's nothing… I was just thinking that you're, um, very different when music isn't involved."

"…Am I really?"

"It isn't a bad thing. I kind of like seeing a different side to you… like I can, um, understand your music better if I understand the person behind it more…"

For a long time, Yukina had felt that she existed for music's sake, and the music she made was a pure reflection of her passion for it, like a neverending feedback loop. But lately she'd been coming more around to Rinko's way of thinking: that there was a Minato Yukina who existed independent of music, and that Yukina contributed to the music she created as well. Lisa would probably suggest that cultivating that part of herself might lead to her music improving, but Yukina wasn't entirely certain she wanted to go that far.

In any case, if Rinko wanted to see more of her, Yukina was willing to oblige. "If it'll help you with our music, I don't mind talking to you more outside of practice."

Rinko looked surprised for a second, then her face turned faintly red again. She'd really been acting a little strange today, Yukina thought, cocking her head to the side.

"I'll think about… taking you up on that…" she finally said, voice sounding a little strained. Then, in a tone of voice closer to normal, she continued. "You've definitely improved a lot today, Yukina… I think if you put a little more time in you'll do fine on your exams…"

"I got that impression as well. Thank you very much, Rinko. Would you mind if I relied on you again another day?"

Rinko shook her head, and Yukina felt a faint smile rising to her lips. Studying was normally the bane of her existence, but today had been something much closer to approaching pleasant.

A strand of Rinko's straight, silky black hair had fallen into her face, and Yukina reached over and gently brushed it back.

"I really do find it calming to be around you, Rinko. For some reason, even doing schoolwork starts to feel like it might be enjoyable."

Rinko flushed again, this time a deeper red. "Um, Yukina…"

"Yes?"

"You should be a little, um, careful about who you say those things to…"

"…Did I say something to offend you?" Yukina asked, somewhat concerned.

"That's not it," Rinko said, giving Yukina a complicated look, but Yukina could tell she wasn't seriously upset. "You don't, um, have to worry about it, actually… should we take a break?"

"That seems like a good idea." Yukina was still unsure of what exactly Rinko's earlier statement had meant, or why her behavior had been slightly odd today. But she had a strange hunch that the more time they spent together, the closer she'd get to finding those answers.

For now, she was just going to enjoy her keyboardist's company.

**Author's Note:**

> little bit of a different sort of ship for me. fun, though--i think both of them play off each other really well, in that they sort of cover up for what the other lacks. considered squeezing them into one of my longer fics but it was getting too complicated already!


End file.
